ABSTRACT
Most schools have a percentage of children that play truant and this sample was no exception. Some schools had more of a problem while others seemingly had very few truants on their books. For the community in question cultural attitudes remain a strong deterrent against those who play truant. Most parents, particularly within the Pakistani community, frown upon truancy. The importance of schooling and qualifications for Pakistani parents is seen as innay rozi ditthi. The purpose of schooling for most parents is clear: to pass examinations and move onto university, as is the case for boys. Parents believe that if their child attends school then he/she should be in school and argue that assa parye say pay-jaya. One common explanation for truancy may be due to the socio-economic factors but the differences in numbers who truant were not considerable. Young people from manual backgrounds were more likely to truant from school or college than those from professional backgrounds.
